Donald Trump Calls Ron Paul a Joke

After declining invitations to the Donald Trump-moderated reality television show Newsmax debate, Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman got speared by Trump on the Today show. "Ron Paul says it was beneath the office of the presidency ..." began Matt Lauer, trying to set the tough tone (he put on his serious glasses to ask that question) of this morning's brief interview with the Apprentice host and fellow NBC employee. Trump, without skipping a beat, responded, "I think most candidates are going to join, I think those two candidates have zero chance of being elected so it makes no difference. But, Ron Paul as an example says Iran should have nuclear weapons or can have nuclear weapons and doesn't even think in terms of Israel. I think they are joke candidates." Ouch, right? But then again, those two never really took the opportunity to try and grab media attention and "kiss the ring"schedule a highly publicized visit with Trump the way their Republican colleagues have. After the Huntsman/Paul takedown, Trump did have more than nice things to say about the Republicans who have visited him--that Romney's allowed to change his mind, that Gingrich wants to help inner-city children, and what a "good guy" Herman Cain is. And when Lauer dances around Trump's one-time, jokeish-candidacy? "When I left, I was leading in the polls ... I want a great candidate. A candidate that is going to beat President Obama." In Trump's opinion (a very televised one at that) that isn't Ron Paul.